The War Games – BBC cover

Doctor Who Online has today posted the cover the July’s DVD release, The War Games – not quite the finished version it seems as it’s lacking the ‘Troughton Years’ text from the bottom bar, but presumably the artwork is the finished thing. Click on the thumbnail to see a larger version at DWO.

My first impressions are favourable. Oddly for what, in retrospect, is a milestone story, there seem to be few photos taken during production of The War Games – and the use here of mostly very familiar shots doesn’t raise my hopes that the disc’s photo gallery will turn up some unseen gems.

The best images of the Doctor do seem to be those of him, Jamie and Zoe crouching in the mud, as used here (and, if I remember correctly, on the video cover) where his body’s at a slightly awkward angle. Nice to see the War Chief make an appearance though, thanks to the cache of photos DWM turned up a few years ago. And I like the explosion added behind the Roman soldies – livens up a much-seen shot very effectively.

I can never decide whether the Time Lords deserve space on the cover – yes, it’s their first, iconic appearance, but they’re hardly integral to the vast majority of the story. Jamie and Zoe feel a little awkwardly placed too, but I like the use of the war table motif. The colouring is nice, although I’d have gone for a more earthy tone.

All in all, one of the best covers we’ve had this year.

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Delta and the Bannermen – BBC cover

Click here for a larger view at the BBC Shop.

My initial reactions: I like the general composition, it’s the details that don’t grab me. I particularly dislike the bus bursting from Sylv’s chest. The bees (I presume) on the left seem like they’re just filling in space (and indeed, it does feel too empty on the outside edges). And why all the swirly nonsense across the bottom – pretty redundant artistically?

It’s a shot of the Doctor I don’t think I’ve seen before, which is nice (even though he has an odd expression), and the gun-toting Gavrok and Delta balance well. But the colours seem a bit muted on this preview, not giving the bright summery feel of the story itself. On the whole, though, it’s only really the bus I think doesn’t work.

Planet of the Dead – BBC cover

Doctor Who Online has revealed the cover for the DVD release of  the recent Special, Planet of the Dead. Click here to see a larger version.

While this is more of a blog about the Classic Series covers, there hasn’t been much to comment on for a while on that front, so I thought I’d expand my remit.

Like the Next Doctor cover, this has taken the books approach of placing the logo in the middle and the two stars above. I don’t know if this is a deliberate plan to unify the ranges, but it does work for this year’s one-off episodes as it puts a focus on the key players, which is clearly a selling point for these Specials.

As for the story specifics, the elements are pretty mandatory – bus, desert, fly guy. The stingrays (did they get an official name?) are a bit indistinct, and I don’t like the whizz lines, especially where they overlap the Doctor’s shoulder. All in all, it sums up the episode – pretty but not very engaging.

The Deadly Assassin – BBC cover

Doctor Who Online have today revealed the cover for The Deadly Assassin. Click here to see a larger version.

I like the basic composition of this and the colouring is good (although the Doctor’s collar perhaps stands out a little too much). Not keen on the Eye of Harmony, though, and the graphics are a bit over the top with both the Prydonian seal and the gun sights. Which given they’re not sighting on anyone seem particularly redundant. I think it would be better without the red triangle and the Eye shifted down a bit – it doesn’t really need to break out of the frame (as it barely does anway). On this image the levels around the Master’s face don’t seem to match those of his cloak, but I’d have to see the printed version to be sure.

Annoyingly, I’m almost certain to use that shot of the Doctor on my cover – well, you have to, don’t you?

Image of the Fendahl – BBC cover

The official cover for Image of the Fendahl has been up at Doctor Who Online for a couple of weeks. Click here to see a larger version.

I was somewhat underwhelmed at first. The circle around the pentangle seems to dominate too much, I’m not keen on the colouring, and I think the Doctor and Fendahleen are positioned too close to the Core’s cape and feel a bit squashed and obscured. Having said that, now I’ve begun to look at what images are available for this story I can see the choices are limited and I suspect mine will end up using the same basic components.